Weekly Photo Challenge: Afloat

The clouds are so near after a spell of rain in Bhurban, Pakistan that it makes you almost feel afloat…

https://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_photo_challenge/afloat/

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Roads

A winding road in Nathiagali, Pakistan. Can you imagine a car passing through this narrow road?

View of a road in San Francisco from a cable car

A road in Islamabad, Pakistan leading to Faisal Mosque.

http://ceenphotography.com/2014/08/26/cees-fun-foto-challenge-roads/

A Word A Week Challenge: Frame

I found some pictures from our travels to suit this challenge:

Ras Al Khaimah, UAE

Bhurban, Pakistan

Phi Phi Islands, Thailand

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2014/02/27/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-frame/

Cricket matches and roosters

Back in my homeland we have a small house in a locality where the houses are falling over each other. The houses are so close together that we can hear loud arguments or children crying in the house next door. Standing on the terrace we can look into all the surrounding houses. Any information that you do not manage to obtain in this way about your neighbors can be gotten by the cleaning ladies who frequent all the houses of the neighborhood.

Our next door neighbors have a lot of people living in the house with children of all sizes. We know this because every time a child is born they distribute mithai (traditional sweets) in the neighborhood.

One of the children is called Abdullah (we hear his mother calling him) and he is too naughty to go to school. They have tried putting him in school but after a few days the school sends him back. So Abdullah spends his time on the street waiting for the other children to return from school. Once the other children are back, it’s time for the cricket matches to start. Since the houses do not have backyards the matches are played on the street. The batsman hits the ball and it lands neatly on our terrace. Now the children are very considerate and do not bother to ring the bell and ask for the ball. The little monkeys simply go into their own house, climb the wall over onto our terrace and retrieve the ball. Another consequence of the cricket matches is that almost every week our gate lights are broken and have to be changed.

On top of all the children, the neighbors also kept a chicken and a rooster in their house. The rooster liked to climb into our house and peck on our plants. Fortunately one of the local cats solved this problem and the rooster is no more.

When we moved to Dubai we came into a locality with 3 to 5 bedroom villas with 2 car porches, a maid’s room and a big backyard. I wanted to make friends with the neighbors so I sent them some chocolates with my husband’s visiting card hoping that they would come over to say thank you. That never happened. I continued to make efforts but to no avail. Finally I gave up. Years later I have realized that only people of same nationalities socialize here. It’s really a shame.

And thinking about it, I kind of miss the cricket matches back home.

Daily Prompt: West End Girls

1. Well Said & Done! | Rima Hassan
2. Recycle | Perspectives on life, universe and everything
3. An ad campaign 🙂 | Perspectives on life, universe and everything
4. Bogota Dame | Perspectives on life, universe and everything
5. Daily Prompt: West End Girls-Why people get rich | Journeyman
6. Society | Mara Eastern
7. Big City Girl | Rose-tinted Rambles
8. Begrenztes Denken auf dem Spielplatz | Zeitarbeiterin
9. Roger, The Bush Pilot And The Daily Prompt | The Jittery Goat
10. DP Daily Prompt: West End Girls | Sabethville
11. Living In Ogden – It’s All About Community
12. a stunning society… | ensuing light…
13. The rainbows in my eyes divide us | 365 days of defiance
14. society | yi-ching lin photography
15. of good hosts | Anawnimiss
16. Daily Prompt: West End Girls | The Wandering Poet
17. Home Is Where Your Rump Rests | The Dragon Weyr
18. Saudi Arabia Was Beautiful But I’m Happy It’s Not My Home, Anymore | Kosher Adobo
19. Daily Prompt: West End Girls « Mama Bear Musings
20. S. Thomas Summers: Writing with Some Ink and a Hammer | The High Society of Cows and Foxes
21. Home (Daily Prompt) | Writing and Works
22. Daily Prompt: Our House | One Starving Activist
23. We Are All Immigrants | Lisa’s Kansa Muse
24. Classes In Society | My Little Avalon
25. Anywhere is a Place for Prayer | THE MARRIED MAN WHO LOVES HIS X
26. Prompt’d To Post: West End Girls (Fairfield County, Connecticut) « The October Weekend
27. Culture shock | A picture is worth 1000 words
28. The beauty in hindsight | Unlocking The Inner Creative
29. Love Don’t live THERE Anymore | peacefulblessedstar
30. MANY CULTURES ONE COMMUNITY | Francine In Retirement
31. The “Hood” back in the day… | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
32. West End Girls: Daily Post | Destino
33. My home’s patio | Life is great
34. A real hodge podge … | 365 And Counting
35. Society | Among the Whispers
36. Memories | Views Splash!
37. Neighbors | Flowers and Breezes
38. Daily Prompt: West End Girls | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
39. Society? Who Needs It. | 61 Musings
40. Daily Prompt: Children’s Society | medicinalmeadows
41. My Abrupt Descent Into the Cesspit of Humanity | Thinking Diagonally
42. One drop in a limitless ocean | sayanything
43. Daily Prompt: West End Girls | Basically Beyond Basic

A Word A Week Challenge: Gap

The gap between the trees revealed the ethereal clouds caressing the mountains (Bhurban, Pakistan).

http://suellewellyn2011.wordpress.com/2013/12/31/a-word-a-week-photograph-challenge-gap/

Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of Years Past

Phi Phi Island, Thailand

27^th Oct 2003: I open the curtains and the stunning view leaves me mesmerized. I stare out at the shimmering blue water against the backdrop of a green mountain. Could such beauty really exist? It’s my first trip to the Far East and I’m with my husband who I married a few days ago. It’s the first time we’re together but it doesn’t feel that way. The hesitation I felt in the beginning seems to have melted away.

Security Council, UN HQ, New York

10^th May 2004: We are at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. We are standing outside wondering how to get in. My husband sends me forward as he thinks I look less of a Pakistani and therefore less suspicious. I get the details and we enter the building. A few hours and many photos later we stop by a McDonalds for lunch. We are touring the United States and have 3 weeks to see as much as we can. I have discovered that my husband loves seeing new places even though he is not too adventurous.

Langkawai Harbor

16^th Nov 2005: We have rented a car to tour the small island of Langkawi in Malaysia. We have already been in the cable car and now we’ll see the rest of the sights by car. I ask my husband if I can drive the car too but he makes an excuse. I have learnt that he likes to be in charge and I don’t mind. I’ll just relax and enjoy the ride.

Isle de Brehat, Brittany, France

30^th Sept 2006: I’m with my colleagues from Pakistan on training in France. We have a car to ourselves and each weekend we visit a new place. Brittany is incredibly beautiful and peaceful. But every night as I lie down to sleep, my heart aches. 5 weeks away from my husband is the longest separation I have had to bear. So this is what being in love feels like.

View from my hotel room, Cairo, Egypt

6^th Nov 2007: I can see the Nile from the terrace of my hotel room. The night view is the most gorgeous I have seen. But my mind is thousands of miles away. I wait for my husband to call me. I want to tell him about the incredible room I’ve got. I know he’ll call exactly when he said he will. I know very well how punctual and organized he is. Having to travel without him is such a headache.

Nathiagali, Pakistan

8^th Mar 2009: We are holidaying in a mountain resort in Nathiagali in Pakistan. We have bought our first home together and cannot afford to make an international trip. It has been the biggest achievement of our lives. People take all their lives to build their own home. Although I also made a major contribution I have to say that my husband is the most hard-working man I have ever met.

Father and son fast asleep

19^th Aug 2012: We are on a plane to Maldives for our first international trip with our son. He is old enough now for us to manage well. I have brought his jigsaw puzzles and his coloring pencils to keep him occupied.  But he soon grows bored and wants to go over to his dad. He snuggles up with him and they both fall asleep. I look at the two men in my life and I feel content.

23^rd Dec 2013: There is only a day left for me to do our packing. Since we’re going by car I’m not too worried as there are no weight restrictions. But I should make a list of all of my son’s things as they will be the most in number. Toys, clothes, snacks, I really must make a list. I hope it’s not too cold and we can enjoy the beach. I’m sure we’ll have some good family time together. This time of the year is always exciting for me, the end of the year and the start of a new year. A time of hope, reflection and gratitude. It will be the last vacation of the year but God willing there are many more exciting times to come.

Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of Years Past

1. Weekly Writing Challenge Response (December 23rds) | starlightfire
2. This time last year… | Home’s Cool!
3. As you grow older, your Christmas list gets smaller; the things you really want for the holidays can’t be bought | Never Stationary
4. A Year Ago Today | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
5. Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of December 23rds Past | hippiebitch420
6. A Theeivening to remember | booksdragonsanddietcoke
7. Recruiting Minors Insults My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies
8. Christmas B & E | Fish Of Gold
9. The Year I Turned 18 and Met the Messiah | jackiefoxdotnet
10. Family Ghosts on Roots Day | humblegenealogy
11. ‘tis three days before christmas | Musings of a Random Mind
12. Ghosts of December 23rds Past | On Being a Homegirl
13. Ghosts of December 23rds Past – The Poetic Take | writingequalspassion
14. Emily’s December 23rd | emilykarn
15. Ghosts Who Sing | My Play Nook
16. Ghosts @ HX | HX Report
17. Weekly Writing Challenge | December 23, 2003 | House of Farts
18. Ghosts of December 23rds Past | I’m a Writer, Yes I Am
19. Christmas in the Pacific Northwest – The Christmas Tree – 2012 | Chasing Rabbit Holes
20. One Year From Today | lifewithgreeneyes
21. Festive Reflection | Getting Nowhere Fast
22. Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of December 23rds Past | imagination
23. The Day That Changed Her. | Babbleogue
24. The December Twenty-thirds of My Dis-belief | A Wild One Within
25. Weekly Writing Challenge: Twas the night before… | Life of a Fallen Angel
26. Chapters of Christmas Past | Mary J Melange
27. Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of December 23rds Past, Or: The Christmas Cancellation | polymathically
28. Galloping Through the Mists of Time | Perceptive Pot Clueless Kettle
29. Stock taking on Dec. 23 | Minnesota Transplant
30. A Good Date (Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of December 23rds Past) | Mod with Love
31. Ghosts of December 23rds Past (WW Challenge) | Ruminations & Observations
32. Ghosts of December 23rds Past (Or, Boy Do I Love My Life) | Laughing Through Life
33. December 23, 2005 | johnautry24
34. Weekly Writing Challenge: Ghosts of December 23rds Past | Stories for the Heart
35. ghosts of december | yi-ching lin photography
36. there are decembers | y
37. 23 Desember 2 atau 3 tahun lalu | semangat! (coba-coba)

Living in Fear

My husband was posted in the volatile Frontier Province of Pakistan. At that time I was working so we decided that I would stay in Islamabad and he would commute over the weekends.

Just a few weeks before, my husband’s colleague had been kidnapped as he returned to the factory with his wife. The kidnappers wore policemen’s uniforms and pretended they were taking him away for questioning. They left his wife and the car. When the family discovered he had been kidnapped they arranged for the ransom. He was released after a week, alive but terribly shaken.

One evening as we talked on the phone my husband told me that he was going on a field visit the next morning. I was a bit concerned but I didn’t say anything as, after all he had to do his job.

The next morning even before I had woken up I received a call asking for my husband. “But this is not his number”, I answered “Who’s calling?”

“I am calling from the security company and we are trying to call him but we can’t get through.”

“Is everything all right?” I panicked.

“Actually, the panic button in his car was triggered and we are trying to contact him now.”

The panic button had been installed in all the company cars since the kidnapping to alert the security company if a possible kidnapping was taking place.

“This is it.” I thought, “My husband has been kidnapped.” I told the man about his field visit and that there would be others with him so he should try to contact the others as well.

I spent the next few minutes trying to call my husband and agonizing over how I would arrange the ransom money and whether I would ever see him ever again.

My phone rang. It was my husband. “Don’t worry. It was a false alarm. I just cleared it with the security company.”

Relief enveloped me. That lump in my throat cleared.

“Why was your phone off?”

“We were passing through an area where the reception was bad.”

“Ok. Call me when you reach the factory safely.”

My husband worked in that area for two years. Whenever he would travel he would be armed and with a bodyguard. I could not relax until he would message me that he had arrived at his destination. Finally when my son was born, he decided he had had enough and started to look for other jobs.

We have been living in Dubai since then for the last three years and we have never felt unsafe again.

Daily Prompt: Safety First

1. Daily Prompt: Safety First | Under the Monkey Tree
2. Getting Back Up | Momma Said There’d Be Days Like This
3. Unsafe At Any Speed | The Jittery Goat
4. Dailypost/safety | annetteharris42
5. A tale of two cities on 9/11 | Beth Byrnes
6. Cat Pics : Safety First | Icezine
7. Castle of Fear | Prayers and Promises
8. Never Confuse An RV With An ATV | Spirit Lights The Way
9. At the deep end | vicariously in love with you
10. A Confession From the Back Seat of a Van | sayanything
11. Sweet home, The Forest | brorsadu
12. Unsafe | Bullet holes in the wall
13. The Mess of Messina | ok.megan.
14. Daily Prompt: Safety First | Awl and Scribe
15. Safety? What’s that? | alienorajt
16. Lion’s Den | JC Bride ~
17. The Shatter | thinkerscap
18. Face your fear – feel safe | crookedeyebrows
19. Safe arms | Historiefortelling
20. Daily Prompt; Unsafe and scared witless | sixty, single and surviving
21. Should I stay or should I go? | Rob’s Surf Report
22. Scarred | vic briggs
23. Mother Nature’s no lady | LynnSlyWrites
24. Lived To Tell About It | Just Visiting This Planet
25. Without Without – Daily Prompt: Safety First « Thoughts of a wandering drunk
26. Edgar Allen Poe Made Me Do It! | Mountains or Molehills
27. Seeking Refuge In An Angry Place | Kansa Muse
28. Daily Prompt: Safety First | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
29. DIY And Safety | Flowers and Breezes
30. DAILY PROMPT: NO SAFE PLACE? | SERENDIPITY
31. Torn | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
32. Daily Prompt: Safety First | life n me!
33. Bake your Fears, feel Safe! | A Crazy Chef
34. Just Yesterday | djgarcia94
35. Safe Haven | Real Life Co.
36. Silence in the Metro | MC’s Whispers
37. DAILY PROMT: SAFETY FIRST | thoughts and entanglements
38. Daily Prompt: Safety First | Basically Beyond Basic
39. Safety First: A First Date Gone Terribly Wrong | melanielynngriffin
40. Safety First | The Nameless One
41. Daily Prompt: Safety First | From Slacker To Scribe
42. Dinosaur hunting | Kate Murray
43. They may not have given chase but I ran. Well, walked fast paced anyway… | thoughtsofrkh
44. The unseen danger | Life is great
45. Daily Prompt: Safety First | The Blogging Path

Dil Dil Pakistan

On 14th August 1987, on Independence Day, the song “Dil Dil Pakistan” was released by the pop group Vital Signs. I was 11 at the time studying in grade 6. This song became very popular and reached the status of a Pop Anthem or Second National Anthem of Pakistan. Everyone was singing it and Vital Signs became the most popular group in the country. I remember that I had very painstakingly (since I am not musically gifted at all) learnt to play the tune of this song on my music player.

In the 2003 BBC World Service international poll of the ten most famous songs of all time, Dil Dil Pakistan was third.

The melody, lyrics and the video of the song were very simple. It appealed to the common person.

This song takes me back to a time before the Taliban came to Pakistan, before there were suicide bombings and before sectarianism had reached extremes. When we were not even thinking about leaving the country, when we sung about our love for our homeland. This is the time when with pride in our hearts we would decorate our house with the national flag on Independence Day and sing the National anthem when it was played on TV.

(The song translated from Urdu)

This land and this sky,

Where would we go except here,

May this light forever illuminate,

May this caravan keep going.

My Heart Pakistan, My Soul Pakistan

When hearts meet,

true love is created,

When flowers are strung,

a garland is created,

My Heart Pakistan, My Soul Pakistan

Our home is more beloved to us

Than our heart and our soul

It is more beloved to us

Than our every wish.

My Heart Pakistan, My Soul Pakistan

What happened to us? How did we change so much in less than a lifetime? I ask these questions as I sit in another country thousands of miles away from my homeland. Did I really have to give it up so easily? Did it not deserve more of an effort on my part?

Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music

1. Miami Vice: Definitely Miami and ‘Cry’ | It Rains… You Get Wet
2. Wake Me Up | Stacy’s Flutterings
3. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | Under the Monkey Tree
4. Driving Through a Hurricane | Mary J Melange
5. Moved by Music | The Urban Dr. Mom
6. moved by music | band of color
7. Adolescence | K beezy is viral
8. Weekly Writing Challenge- Moved By music | sassy&classy
9. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | Kat Dancing
10. sonic tonic | nanopod: hybrid studio
11. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moonlight Serenade | Spiritual Biscuits
12. Moved by Music Memories | Kansa Muse
13. the power of inspiration | ramblings
14. “Sit Down”: The Anthem of My Childhood | 97 Life Street
15. Moved by Music: DPChallenge | Lead us from the Unreal to the Real
16. 5 Songs That Can Get You Through The Dark Days | dark circles, etc
17. Weekly Writing Challenge: How I Have Been Moved By Music | My Daily Prompt Blog
18. The Soundtrack of My Life | Stories From My Mind
19. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
20. Beautiful Music. | My Life In Endwood
21. Music Is The Soundtrack | Perceptive Pot Clueless Kettle
22. Wildcat! Wildcat!: Too Underground for You? | Never Stationary
23. Weekly Writing Challenge: | Food to Fiction
24. WWC: The Sound of Inspiration | Kingdom of Sharks
25. ipod shenanigans ☯ | CrabbyChique
26. Can you FEEL it? – Weekly Writing Challenge | Attack of the Spaz
27. Moved By Music: Weekly Writing Challenge | lifebeinggirly
28. “Said I’ll always be your friend, took an oath imma stick it out till the end” | A chain of thoughts…
29. Weekly Writing Challenge:Moved by Music | Motherhood and Beyond
30. Triggers: This Man, His Music | Aurora Morealist
31. Tomorrow with The Crowd today…Limited Edition On Colored Vinyl… well it is limited on normal vinyl. | The Seminary of Praying Mantis
32. Music to my ears! | Confessions of a Try-hard
33. A chain of thoughts…
34. Daft Punk is giving “life” back to music | San Diego Sound
35. Song To The Pharoah Kings | MyRomanForum
36. Brat Pack | Melissa Barker-Simpson
37. Come Sail Away With Me | Right The Writer
38. Unchanged Melodies Insult My Intelligence | Bumblepuppies
39. Music. Love. Joy | Neva Samaki
40. Unexpected Music | The Lifepath Dialogues
41. Beautiful Fantastical Reality | Rêves Malveillant
42. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved By Music » Indigo Spider
43. SoundEagle in Art, Music and Compositions about New Sensations, Love, Life, Country, Nature, Dreaming, Meditation and Spirituality | SoundEagle
44. SoundEagle in SoundCloud: Art, Music and Compositions about New Sensations, Love, Life, Country, Nature, Dreaming, Meditation and Spirituality | SoundEagle
45. The Impossible Dream | Chasing Rabbit Holes
46. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved By Music | thisblogisepic
47. Stupid In L.O.V.E | Innovation of Deductions
48. When my mind wanders… | .:Lani’s Summer in Rain
49. Dave Takes Five Forever | Not the Family Business!
50. Remind Me Who I Am – Jason Gray | Proverbs 31 Teen
51. Unwritten | Transitioning Mom
52. one, two, three, four, fiiiiiive, four, three, two, one… When I get back from Hell Again… | summoning esther
53. Till Eternity… | SoundEagle
54. The Gambler | rifeparent
55. Music | Of Broken Dreams,Faith, Ailments and Struggles
56. Lost Memories | Musings of a Bleeding Optimist
57. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | On My Front Porch
58. “Hokey Pokey” | Gnome Lover
59. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | Write Through Life
60. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | BloodPrincess
61. Weekly Writing Challenge: Music | Making Life an Art
62. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved By Music | MAGGIE’S BLOG
63. Moved By Music | standinginthestorm
64. of leaving | Anawnimiss
65. Alice | scribbles in the chocolate box
66. Solution is within | Shetall says
67. SoundEagle in Erik Otis’ Sound Colour Vibration (Music | Art | Film | Photography | Culture) Blog | SoundEagle
68. Weekly Writing Challenge: Music | sukies original
69. Moving And Music | ~xoxo, msL
70. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music « cognitive reflection
71. Lullabying the Wonder Years | The Seeker’s Dungeon
72. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music | Reflections and Nightmares- Irene A Waters (writer and memoirist)
73. DP Challenge: Untouchable « Morning Pages
74. Misunderstood Misogyny: A Country Music Chronicle of One Man’s Love Life | Finale to an Entrance
75. I feel fine | Knocked over by a feather
76. Weekly Writing Challenge: Moved by Music Somewhere in Time | Awl and Scribe

Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon

A panoramic view of the Pearl Continental Hotel in Bhurban, Pakistan (known as the White Pearl) nestled among the mountains where the earth seems to blend into the sky.

Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon

1. Stepping Off the Path | Broken Light: A Photography Collective
2. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Flickr Comments
3. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon / A different view on Krakow | Cardinal Guzman
4. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Stephen Chapman
5. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Ese’ s Voice
6. Weekly Photo Challenge – Horizon « LargeSelf
7. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | travelicius
8. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | So where’s the snow?
9. Horizon (Weekly Photo Challenge) | Icezine
10. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Steve Says….
11. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Sappy Chick
12. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | This, that and the other thing
13. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Cee’s Photography
14. WPC: HORIZON « MY WALL
15. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon Gallery of 75 Photographs
16. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Joy and Woe
17. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Wind Against Current
18. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Photographs by James Collett
19. WEEKLY PHOTO CHALLENGE: HORIZON ON THE ATLANTIC | SERENDIPITY
20. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | The Otter in my Jotter
21. WPC: Horizon | blueberriejournal
22. Weekly Photo Challenge – Horizon | Just Snaps
23. Reticulated Parisian Horizons | follow your nose
24. WordPress weekly photo challenge: Horizon | Milka Pejovic
25. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | yarnwuseleien
26. WPC: Horizon | Books, Music, Photography & Movies : my best friends
27. A broad Horizon | A Happy and Beautiful World
28. Weekly Photo Challenge – Horizon | Chittle Chattle
29. Horizon | Jasper Smits
30. Photoworld 25-10-13 | ~~~ nur ein “Klick” ~~~ ein Kompendium
31. Photo Challenge: Horizon | Drops of Magic
32. Weekly Photo Challenge – Horizon | The Urge To Wander
33. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | castelsarrasin
34. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Sun
35. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Mind Overflow
36. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – The First Stab of Love is like a Sunset!!!
37. Weekly Photo Challenge : Horizon | Jejak BOcahiLANG
38. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – City trapped in Minds needs Reflection for Wisdom
39. Approaching NYC | thoughtsofrkh
40. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Delicate Tree
41. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Yann Graf – Digital Project Manager
42. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Delicate Evening
43. A Word A Week Photo Challenge – Favourite « Beach Treasures and Treasure Beaches
44. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | veryvanessalynn
45. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Home
46. WPC: Horizon -Kansas Horizon and Bellowing Bull | Cosmos Wonderland
47. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | The Mockingbird in Me
48. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Trees and Lake
49. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Vision
50. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – The SUN – Up in the Sky and Beyond reach!
51. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | A Journey Called Life …
52. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Foreshadow of Monsoon
53. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – One Shot, Two Ways – The City
54. My.Vivid.Visions | Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon – Fort
55. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | It’s a wonderful F’N life
56. weekly photo challenge: horizon | A Meditative Journey with Saldage
57. my hem of heaven | Life through a Lens
58. Weekly photo challenge: Horizon | Life of a Fallen Angel
59. Harbour Hues and Horizons | Empire of Lights
60. North Muskoka River (WPC: Horizons) | photo potpourri
61. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | What Is It?!?
62. Weekly photo challenge: Horizon | Simon Hawketts’s Photo Blog
63. Weekly photo challenge: Horizon | Connie’s World
64. Weekly Photo Challenge – Horizon | Perceptive Pot Clueless Kettle
65. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Today, on Earth
66. Horizon | de Wets Wild
67. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Irregular Ventilator
68. The Hue of Me | Eikons
69. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Ohm Sweet Ohm
70. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Memory Catcher
71. Weekly Challenge: Horizon 2 | Simon Hawketts’s Photo Blog
72. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Life Confusions
73. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | Elämän katupeili
74. On the Dramatic Horizons of Iceland | Thirdeyemom
75. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | MKG- Memories-Keepsakes-Gifts
76. Horizon – A WordPress Photo Challenge! | Life in the Foothills
77. Weekly Photo Challenge: Horizon | AMtraveltimes
78. A Sunrise Shaping the Horizon | Vanilla Feel Good

The Hills are Alive…

“The hills are alive with the sound of music..”, the music of birds chirping and the gentle swishing of the fresh air. This is Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, built on the foothills of the Margalla hills. I miss the beautiful scenery of Islamabad, my hometown. It’s called “Islamabad The Beautiful” and with reason. Its natural greenery still leaves you in awe, though it has diminished over the years as new residential colonies and highways were built.

My favorite places are the Trail 3 hiking trail in the Margalla hills and the Monal Tree house restaurant. I have seen many places around the world, but this restaurant is the most beautiful place you can sit and eat and enjoy the atmosphere. The view is breathtaking and the food isn’t bad either.

I find the hiking trail tough to climb but once you reach the top the view is really worth it. I like that they have not tampered with the natural beauty of the place.

Just two hours from Islamabad is a hill station made famous for a big hotel constructed there, Bhurban. Further on comes Ayubia and Nathiagali. I miss the snow and the freezing cold of Nathiagali and the spectacular scenery all the way through.

Nathiagali, Pakistan

Living in Dubai, they have everything, they built the tallest tower of the world, artificial islands, they even have ski slopes in one of the malls, but they can’t match the beauty of natural landscape. And they can’t build mountains. At least not yet.

Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home

1. Clutches | The Magic Black Book
2. Dogs Feel At Home | The Ambitious Drifter
3. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Awl and Scribe
4. I don’t wanna miss a thing (but I do) | Neva Samaki
5. Where My Heart Is | thelifeofagirlsite
6. Where the Heart Lies | tinypurpleme
7. Daily Prompt: HOME SWEET VIRTUAL HOME | SERENDIPITY
8. Gentle Hills and Fields | Reinvention of Mama
9. Daily Prompt: Home « Vicariously Poetic
10. The Sick Story | Mind of a Mouse
11. It’s almost, but not quite… | thoughtsofrkh
12. Daily Prompt: Home | VNA Images
13. Yoga Class | I’m just Super Saiyan
14. Home is where I put my hat… | Kate Murray
15. Confessions from the Cracked Pot (Part 3) | JC Bride ~
16. Cornish Lavender: fiction | alienorajt
17. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Whimsical Eclecticist
18. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Steve Says….
19. Under the Moon at Home | Misifusa’s Blog
20. Home Sweet Home | mostlytrueramblings
21. Dublin, Ireland | Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Ireland, Multiple Sclerosis and Me
22. Home is where heart is | sylphontheloose
23. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Myas – A Tragic Lady But No TB
24. Food sweet Food | Life Confusions
25. Why Home Sweet Home Is The Best Place To Be! | The Political and Social Chaos Blog
26. Saying Goodbye Is Like Drowning (short fiction) | The Jittery Goat
27. Home – Post a Day Photo Challenge | Tidbits n Treasures
28. When Birds Come To Roost ‘Ere | Spirit Lights The Way
29. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Wordz on a Page
30. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Chronicles of an Anglo Swiss
31. Home Is Where The Jobs Are | mutatiomagistra
32. Missing Home | Flowers and Breezes
33. World War One, Coincidences and Family Birthdays | DCMontreal: Blowing the Whistle on Society
34. Daily Prompt; Home Sweet Home | terry1954
35. Home Sweet Home | SimplySage
36. What’s to miss when I’m gone? | Rob’s Surf Report
37. Home Sick: flash fiction | Motherhood and Beyond
38. Home Sweet Home- Daily Prompt | The Rider
39. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | tnkerr-Writing Prompts and Practice
40. Please get off my bed | The Otter in my Jotter
41. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home 2 « Every day adventures in Asia (mostly)
42. Daily Prompt: Away Sweet Away | My Atheist Blog
43. Donna’s home tour of the flat | We Live In A Flat
44. What is home? | Tales of a slightly stressed Mother!
45. This place I call home | Madhura’s Musings
46. Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Sand | Under the Monkey Tree
47. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | James’s Journal
48. Home Sweet Home ♥ | Perhaps yes, perhaps no. Exactly? I don’t know.
49. Not All Who Wander Are Lost . . . | meanderedwanderings
50. Psst…I Need Your Help? | Cheri Speak
51. Home Sweet Home | The Nameless One
52. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Chicomallorca’s Blog
53. The Conundrum | What’s In The Pot : Farewell
54. Where Does The Red Brick Road Go? | Just Visiting This Planet
55. Where the Heart Is | Real Life Co.
56. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | Moments Thru Lens
57. Home Sweet Home | jane1davis
58. Daily Prompt: Home Sweet Home | My Heaven | Silver Wonderland
59. Home Sweet Home | My thoughts on a page.